Xi Jinping is known as a 'princeling,' gets compared to Winnie the Pooh, and loves American movies - and now he's China's most powerful leader in decades

Reuters

China's President Xi Jinping waits to meet with outgoing Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying at a hotel in Hong Kong, China, June 29, 2017.

Xi Jinping has become China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.

He is the first leader since Mao to be alive at the time his name was written into the Chinese constitution, has overseen an almost unparalleled purge of corrupt party officials that has solidified his power, and faced opposing factions within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) head on.

While his origins are not exactly humble, Xi learned to survive and thrive in China's brutal political landscape the hard way.

Xi's father was a Chinese Civil War veteran who eventually served as vice premier under Chairman Mao. The elder Xi would later be purged from the party as part of Mao's Cultural Revolution.

The following years were chaotic for Xi's family; his father was relocated to a factory in central China, his sister died after years of harassment and abuse, and Xi Jinping was ripped away from his privileged upbringing and sent to the countryside as a "sent-down youth."

From there, Xi managed to join the Party, and rise through its ranks until he became the General Secretary in 2012, and President in 2013.

Take a look at the life and rise of Xi Jinping here: